Lovers Cursed by Time
by MoonPrincess919
Summary: Before they can get their happy ever after, Ling and Kendra are cursed and sent to another world similar to their own. Now, separated by time and distance, the two lovers must find each other before time runs out. But when Kendra gets drawn to a certain town to eventually meet the red-haired princess and her dragons, will the Gates ever open again?


Whistling winds blew through the frosty caps of the mountains. They sang with sorrow and rage as lone white she-wolf trudged through its dry dirt paths. The poor creature was just as saddened and angry as the winds around her, cursing the intimidating gate doors that it'd been forced through. She sneered at the mere memory of the genderless god that pushed it through with a knowing smile.

Now, as the she-wolf crossed through the mountains to find a cave, the young wolf tripped over its tired paws and slid down the mountainside. She was far too tired to keep walking. That's all she'd been doing for last week, not stopping for food - not that there was any - and only relying on the snow to keep herself hydrated. The exhausted wolf staggered back to her paws only to tumble again with a yelp a few meters away. This time, she rolled and skid down the steep rocks, some of the jutting points cutting through her thick fur and skin.

When she finally rolled to a stop, the wolf just laid there. She was too tired to move, not having enough energy to so much as twitch a single digit. Her breathing was ragged and her vision was blurred, but the faraway sound of footsteps alerted her to someone approaching. Hoping with everything she had that they were friendly, the she-wolf started whining. She whimpered and wailed until the footsteps grew closer and came to a stop just outside of her failing vision.

The young woman who'd found her gasped in surprise at finding a wolf so injured. Crimson stained its beautiful white fur in many places, some wounds deeper and more obvious than others. Its pitiful whimpers made her want to help it in whatever way she could. Briefly noting that it's fur should probably have black and even some grey in it, the woman raced back the way she came.

Not far from where the wolf collapsed was a vine-curtained overhang with medicinal flowers blooming. They would be scarce this time of year, but it was the only shot she had. Quickly inching across the ledge, she struggled against the winds and focused on the path in front of her. She pushed her way through the vines the second they were within her reach. Fierce brown eyes looked around frantically, hoping there were at least one of the plants there.

Sure enough, in the far corner nearly hidden by other dead branches, stood a single bush of the Senjuso herbs she was hoping for. The woman smiled triumphantly as she carefully dug out the roots and made her way back outside. This time, the wind worked with her as she carefully shuffled along the ledge.

She hurried back up the trail and cautiously made her way back through the trees. The woman checked to see if the wolf was still breathing and was relieved to see it was. She glanced around and found a couple rocks to grind down the roots and carefully pulled the flowers from their stems. With a little bit of water from her pouch and a few other stray herbs she had, the young woman got to work. She covered the wolf's deepest cuts first only to stop short for a moment.

They weren't as deep as they'd been a few hours ago. Her eyes narrowed but she continued to work. It wasn't until she had to reach for a cut on its inner thighs that she discovered the wolf was a female. A lone male wolf she could understand, but a lone female? That was a little strange if not for her wounds.

Still, she kept it up. For the next few days, whenever her chores were finished, the young woman would walk to that same cluster of trees to check on the wolf. Seeing as she couldn't really move, the brunette would bring her lupine friend scraps from the day's meals. It wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the wolf, but it was enough to help her get better. By the fourth day, she was back on her paws and trotting around.

Seeing this, for the first time since they'd met, the young woman spoke. "I guess that means you'll be on your way."

She sighed and stood to walk away. It hadn't been long, but the woman was glad to have someone else to talk to. Most people didn't like how blunt she was or how comfortable she was working with the men. While she was content with her life, the eighteen-year-old was lonely. She just wanted someone to share her days with and the she-wolf had filled that void.

As she turned to make her way back, the young brunette was surprised to see the wolf start to follow her. Sighing exasperatedly, the woman tried to shoo the she-wolf away. Still, the white-furred being followed her. She trotted along behind the woman all the way to the city.

"Gi-Gan!" The blunt brunette, now known as Gi-Gan, turned to face one of the men she worked the port with. He was a stocky fellow with short black hair and kind eyes. The man smiled from the fish pile he was sorting before noticing the woman's furry companion. "Who's that you got there?"

"She's a wolf who'd been injured in the mountains. Helped her out a few times." Gi-Gan huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Now she doesn't wanna leave."

The man gave a hearty laugh. "Well, maybe now you'll have someone to keep you from getting lonely."

"Oh, hush you!" She stalked off with a swish of her brown hair.

He simply laughed harder.

The wolf merely followed after her until they reached her little house. It was mostly barren with the exception of her small kitchen and dining table, with a single door in the back leading to her bedroom. Okay, so maybe he was right; she was lonely. Didn't mean she would ever admit out loud.

The wolf stayed by the woman's side from that day on. Whenever someone lost their balance, the wolf was there. If there were things that needed to be carried and no one was free, the she-wolf offered her back. When the warmer months rolled around, she would run off to the mountains to hunt for small animals to bring back. It wasn't long before most everyone in the town knew the white wolf who stayed with the blunt young woman toward the middle of town.

Over the years, people began to notice that the wolf never seemed to age. Even as her owner's brown hair turned grey and her face less supple, her wolf companion - of whom she'd named Yuki, a word she knew from another nation that meant _snow_ like the silky white fur of her coat - remained the same.

It wasn't long before people saw her as a divine protector; always attacking bandits and tracking down thieves. They would give the she-wolf small offerings like alcohol and small portions of meat. Sometimes, they even gave her healing poultices. Yuki would always bark and growl in gratitude before taking whatever they gave her to Gi-Gan and the local healers.

In fact, it was during one of her struggles to defend Awa from bandits that she finally revealed her biggest secret to her best friend.

It was a particularly stormy night, with no moon to shine through the clouds. A large group of bandits tried to get into town only to be met with a snarling teal-eyed wolf. They mostly laughed it off but still moved around it carefully.

Or, they tried to.

The second any of them got a little too close, the wolf would swipe glowing blue claws at them. Everyone it touched became paralyzed as mystic frost spread through their limbs. It wasn't long before the bandits tried to use long-range weapons to overcome the wolf. However, those were also ineffective, rendered useless by a few flicks of her long tail.

Unfortunately, that was only a distraction as some of the bandits surrounded her.

They pounced and caught her off guard. Yuki was pinned to the ground before she could shake them off. Soon, knives and swords were slashed across her sides, down her chest, even a few in her legs and paws. When exhaustion started to pull at her, the she-wolf knew she had to act fast.

She snarled and released a gust of icy fog. It blinded her attackers and even slowed them down. The few who were still paralyzed suffered intense frostbite in most of their limbs. Using the hasty distraction, she summoned enough power to shift into her human form.

Snowy waves were wrapped up into four twisted loops held together by a single silver hair stick; the many sapphire-petaled flowers held together by the silver wiring that tied them to the hair stick. The rest of her hair fell braided over her shoulders. Teal eyes darkened into a deep fuschia with teal sclera. Standing at five foot seven inches, her tanned skin smoothly covered her lithe curves. Besides the stark color of her hair eyes, her elven ears and dainty fangs helped to her inhuman nature.

Her long furry tail stayed, draping across her arms through her elbows. Blue fabric clung to her curves covered by curling black fabric that came to a point over her shoulder and down her arms to cut off at her wrists. The long matching black-to-navy-blue skirt flowed around her legs, a slit all the way up each side to her hips where the intricate silver waistband swirled around the dark raspberry obi that held her outfit closed.

Black silk shoes covered her feet, stopping just above her ankle, the seams lined with silvery thread. The raspberry ribbons crossed up to the middle of her shin, tied into a tight bow at the top.

As beautiful as her outfit was, the cut and stabs she'd suffered showed. The fabric was torn and cut around each wound she had, the dark colors stained an even darker crimson. Even her shoes were slashed open.

Yuki used her outfit's colors to her advantage, disappearing through the trees. Once she was far enough, the inhuman woman swung out a clawed hand, hundreds of icy daggers materializing in the air. They sang through the air, only stopping to plant themselves in the hearts of whoever was left standing.

She struggled to calm her breathing to listen for any heartbeats she may have missed. When she found none, the she-wolf slowly walked back to the clearing. The scent of blood and death was enough proof that no one was left.

Yuki allowed her shoulders to sag as she turned. However, before she could get very far, another bandit came up behind her. Disregarding her injuries, her claws snapped back and sliced open his neck. The disgusting man's blood gushed outward and spurted onto her hair and back.

_Great, now I have to scrub my hair too._ She huffed and trudged slowly into town. With every step, pain radiated through her. The trail of blood she tracked to Gi-Gan's hut made her cringe. She would need to use her magic to clean that up before sunrise.

Finally reaching her friend's hut, she pushed the door open and collapsed onto the ground. She could feel her baser instincts rising, making her fuschia eyes bleed real. Yuki growled and barked, hoping for Gi-Gan to hear her.

Shuffling feet and a lit oil lamp later, she could hear the elder woman's grumbling as she got out of bed. "Damn wolf. Don't you know how late it is? What is it this-"

Gi-Gan stopped short upon seeing the bleeding woman on her floor. The extravagant way she was dressed made it obvious that she was some kind of noble. If not for her wounds, the fisherwoman would think her beautiful.

Then she noticed the woman's familiar real eyes. The woman startled her by growling with a familiar voice. **"I need your help."**

"What…" The thirty-four-year-old looked the fallen she-wolf over and finally realized why she looked familiar. The snowy white of her hair and the intense teal of her eyes made it very clear. "Yuki?"

Yuki shakily nodded and Gi-Gan sighed, setting her lamp on the dining table. "I'll go get the healing poultices." She walked back to her bedroom only to stop in the doorway. "I expect an explanation for this."

The wolf sighed, conceding with a low growl. It was only right, after all.

That night, Gi-Gan finally discovered how her wolf friend ended up in those woods.

The fisherwoman stared blankly at her humanoid wolf friend. "And you're saying this… _Truth _being has cursed you and your husband?"

"I have about forty more years to find him before I turn into a statue of ice," Yuki, er, Kendra nodded solemnly and looked down at her hands.

Gi-Gan's eyes narrowed. Everything about what Yuki - _Kendra, _she silently corrected - told her was just plain crazy. It was a story of alchemy, animal spirits, and other worlds. But that, surprisingly, wasn't the biggest surprise in her friend's story. No, it was the reveal that the she-wolf was actually an empress in her home country. It certainly explained her attire as well as the strange sense of diplomacy she held.

She had every right to deny the wolf's story and call her crazy. But the saddened longing in her eyes was unmistakable. It was a look she saw on many of the wives of fishermen lost at sea. _She really is telling the truth._

"Well," she started and leaned closer, "with some of the things I've seen you do, I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

The relieved smile she got made guilt swarm into her heart. Had her friend really been that worried about rejection? Gi-Gan almost scoffed at the idea but pulled her friend into a hug. After that, there were no secrets between the two of them.

~oOo~

**Author's Note: This is just a little prologue to a possible sequel to my story Demons of Amestris. At this rate, Lovers Cursed will be finished before its prequel, lol. Anyway, tell me what you guys think!**


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